Astros pitcher Jordan Lyles delivers a pitch to Blue Jays' Edwin Encarnacion in the first inning of their MLB American League baseball game in Houston August 23, 2013. (Richard Carson/Reuters)

After losing 100 games in a season for a third straight time, the Houston Astros are planning on turning around their fortunes in the off-season.

"We're going to make some investments in bringing in some players from outside the organization, with the goal in mind to help us be more competitive, to shore up the bullpen, maybe add another bat to the lineup," Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told the Houston Chronicle.

The Astros have a reason to be optimistic for next season. Rookie starters Brett Oberholtzer, Jarred Cosart, Brad Peacock and Paul Clemens have posted a combined 2.57 ERA since July 12.

"I know 100% we'll be better," Cosart said. "I know we don't want to put a number on anything. But obviously, we're shooting to get better than we were this year."

A’S STADIUM ISSUES BACK

The Oakland A’s are doing just fine on the field these days.

Their ballpark? That’s a different story.

In the middle of the club's 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday night, the home dugout bathroom at the O.co Coliseum, flooded.

Blevins described the plumbing problem as a "pretty good coating" of sewage.

The A's, who had a record of 89-63 and were six games away from clinching the American League West heading into Wednesday action, have had issues with stadium maintenance throughout the 2013 season.

CUBS MAY RENEW SVEUM

More than likely, Chicago Cubs manager Dale Sveum will be back in the team's dugout next year, despite two losing seasons.

Sveum was brought in by team president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer when they came aboard in the fall of 2011, and his contract runs through the end of the 2014 season.

Epstein was in Milwaukee Tuesday to watch the Cubs' 4-3 loss to the Brewers. He met with Sveum earlier in the day and, while praising Sveum, said everything is being reviewed.

“We're evaluating the coaching staff, and we're evaluating Dale,” Epstein said. “We're going to make a lot of decisions after the season and go forward. I think as a whole Dale's had a nice calming effect on the club.

-The Sports Xchange

BRIEFLY

The Tampa Bay Rays promoted shortstop prospect Tim Beckham from triple-A Wednesday. Beckham was the first overall pick in the 2008 MLB draft. Rays outfielder Brandon Guyer was put on the 60-day disabled list to make room on the roster ... San Francisco Giants pitcher Jeremy Affeldt has been shut down for the rest of the season. Affeldt, who is nursing a nagging groin injury, has already missed 50 games.

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